Spark-arrester.



NO- 830,592. PATENT'ED SEPT. 11, 1906. A. N. 6a A. M. HOLDAWAY.

SPARK ARRESTER..

APPLIUATION FILED mms. 1905.

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No. 830,592. PATENTBD SEPT. 11, 1905.V A. N. a; A. M. HOLDAWAY.

SPARK ARRESTBR. APPLIOATION FILED JULYa. 1905.

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No. 030,502. PATBNTBD SEPT. 11,1906. 1

A. N. & A. M. HOLDAWAY.

SPARK ARRESTER. APPLIOATION FILED JULY a. 1905.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

ANDREW N. HOLDAWAY, OF PROVO,.AND ALFRED M. HOLDAWAY, OE l v PLEASANT GROVE, UTAH.

SPARK-ARRESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 11, 1906.

To' all whom, it matr/concern:

Be it known that we, ANDREW N. HOLD-'- AWAY, residing at Provo city, and ALFRED M. HOLDAWAY, residing at Pleasant Grove, in the county of Utah and State of Utah, have invented a` new and Improved Spark-Arrester, .of which the following is a specification.

This invention is in the nature of an improved construction of spark-arrester or cinder-catching means adapted for use on the smoke-stacks of locomotives, stationary, and other engines of heavy or forced draft; and it primarily seeks to provide certain improvements in such means of a sim le and eco'- nomical construction capable of eing readily combined with square or cylindrical stacks and adjustable from the engineers cab or station and arranged to be set to provide for a maximum clearance of the stack or smokepassage or for a partial or Whole closure of sild passage, as conditions may make desira e.

In its generic nature our invention comprehends a pair of opposing screen frames or bodies pivotally supported at one end within the stack or smoke-passage and having the opposite or free ends arranged to swing toward each other and to form a screen-closure extending entirely across the smokepassage, said oppositely-disposed screen members having attached means operatable from outside the stack or fiue for simultaneously setting the said screen members to partially or wholly close over the smoke-passage, the stack or flue having a restricted cinder-passage at a point under the outer or hinged ends of the screen members and a defiector coperating with said passage for leading off the cinders and discharging them at a point below the stack or into the fire-box of the engine.

This invention in its more complete nature embodies op osing screen-frames hjngedl mounted in t e upper end ofthe smoke-stac adapted to be adjusted toward each other, whereby to restrict the smoke-passage, composed of slatted bodies the slats of which are so arranged as to provide for draft-passages therebetween, whereby to compensate for the check created in the draft by reasonl of restricting the open smoke-passage, and at the same time positively deflect or hold back the cinders and cause them to discharge toward and through a restricted cinder-passage, through which they flow to a point or points outside of the stack, preferably into the fire-box.

Again, our invention comprehends, in a spark-arresting means of the general character before stated, a slatted screen-body composed of trough-like slats, I-l-shaped or inverted-oval lshape in cross-section, longitudinally slotted and arranged in overlying series, those of one set breaking joints or positioned between the passages between the next lower set, whereby the narrow slot or passage in 'eachslat or bar will be directly over the wide air-passage between an adj acent pair of slats or bars below it, whereb to positively catch and retard the cinders forced upwardly through the wide passages between the check or screen bars.

Our invention also seeks to provide a spark-arresting means in which hinged screen` members are mounted within the smoke-stack adapted to be adjusted to govern the size of the open cinder or smoke passage and which are so designed as to positively deflect the cinders striking thereagainst to a cinder-offtake without materially interfering with Vthe maximum direct and free draft through the stack and in which one or more series of pendent or downwardlyfacing overlying break-joint flanges are provided for checking 'the outfiow of the cinders and to cause them to drop back and move up and out in the direction of a supplemental outlet or cinder-passage arranged to convey the cinders outside of the stack.

,In its more subordinate features our invention consists in certain details of construction and novel combination of parts, all of which will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichl d Figure l is'a perspective view of a square stack or flue equipped with the generic arrangement of our invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same positioned on a boiler and illustrating the manner of taking off the cinders and actuating the screens under the application of compressed air, the screens being shown in their closed position. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the screens IOO at their open position. Fig. 4 is a horizontal View taken substantially on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a cylindrical stack, showing a slightly-modified arrangement of the general construction of our invention, the screens being shown at their closed position. Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the screens at their open position. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on` the line 7 7 of Fig. 5. the screen members shown in Fi s. 1 and 4 removed from the stack. Fig. 9 1s a similar view of the screen members shown in Figs. 5 to 7. Figs. 10 and 10a are views of further modifications hereinafter explained. Fig. l1 is a cross-section of a square stack with our preferred form or construction of screen members. Fig. 12 is a transverse section of the same, vtaken practically on the line 12 12 on Fig. 1 1, the devices for moving the frames being omitted. Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating the general arrangement of the several screen-bodies when a plurality of sets of screen bars or slats are used. Fig. 14 shows the manner in which the form of screenbodies shown in Figs. 11, 12, and 13are arranged for a round stack. Fig. 15, illustrates a further modification. of the means for adjusting the screens by lever action.

In carrying out our invention we provide a 'pair or a plurality of pairs of screen-frames, which are hingedly mounted in such manner Within the stack or iiue so that when their lower ends are brought together an inverted V or cone shaped screen-closure is formed within the stack or flue which, while presenting a check extending entirely across the flue, does not materially interfere with the updraft of the products of combustion, but deiiects the cinders to the outer edges of the stack into a receiver arranged to lead the cinders in a downward direction outside of the stack or back into the fire-box, as conditions may make desirable.

When applied to smoke-stacks square in cross-section, our invention in its most generic form, as indicated in Figs. 1 to 4 and 8, consists of a plurality of pairs of oppositelydisposed rectangular frames a a of the full width of the stack and having a series of longitudinally-extending slots a a. These frames have their upper ends hinged, as at 3 3, at points near the top of the stack, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) and they are so hinged that when they assume their vertical position they lie flatwise against each other and the sides of the stack (see'Fig. 3) to give a substantially full clearance of the stack when not firing. The several frames a a are also so hinged that when they are swung inwardly their lower edges will abut at a point midway of the stack and form, as it were, a V-shaped screen or closure which, while acting as a retardingv means for holding back the cinders, will not materially interfere. With the direct Fig. S is a view of one of or updraft in the flue while leading the cinders toward the sides of the stack and up to cinder-passages or oiitakes b @formed at the upper end of the iiue or stack.

To produce a staggering direction of draft through the slotted screens a a, the slots of the several screens are alternately arranged so as to break joints," as it were, and not have them in vertical alinement.

To provide for conveniently setting the frames a, a in unison and from the engineers cab or station, a plunger-rod C is run up on the outside of the stack and down through the smoke-flue and in the boiler and connected to a piston c', working in an air-cylinder C', fed from the air-reservoir in any approved manner and arranged to be charged by a suitable valve-actuating rod c2, running to the engineers cab or station.

The upper end of the plunger-rod C connects with the adjacent ends of a pair of toggle-links 3a 3, the diverged or free ends of which are pivotally connected to the Aadjacent edges of the frames a a., so that under the downthrust of the rod C the said links 3a 3L will be extended to a horizontal plane, and thereby swing out the frames a a to their vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3,

and when the rod C is forced `upward the said links 3a diaw the frames inwardly totheir closure position, as shown in Fig. 2, or vice versa.

D D designate cinder-passages formed on the outside of the opposite walls of the stack, into which the cinder-outlets in the stacktop discharge, and the said passages D are IIO shown in Fig. 1 will generally operate to arrest and deflect the cinders, yet inthe most practical embodiment of our invention we prefer to use a plurality of sets of screens a a and to mount the said screens as best shown in Figs. 11 and 12, by reference to which it will be noticed the said screen-frames are composed of a series of bars or plates each having a narrow longitudinal slot a5 a5 and having either pendent flanges 5a, as shown in Fig. 13, or made of an inverted semicircular shape, see Fig. 10 (to form bars) trough-like in cross-section, whose opposite-edges will catch the cinders as they are blown up and turn them back, and to make this check or larresting operation positively effective Without impeding materially A'the direct draft through the iiue or stack the trough-like n bars of the uppermost screen-frame are dis- 13o posed over theY wide space between a pair of the trough-like bars ofthe next lower screen. This arrangement of screens at once in operation allows for widev openings between the screen-bars to give ample draft and compensate for whatever check of the draft isproduced by the bars, and `also by reason yof the staggered relation of the bars of the several frames the 'same causes the cinders to be forced against the pendent edges or iianges of the several bars, and thus prevents them from passing out of the flue except through the cinder-offtakes.

When a plurality of trough-like frames are used, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the several screen-frames a a are linked together by the short straps 4 4` to move on their hinges in unison, and the uppermost set of frames a a are connected by toggle-links a6 a with, a vertically-movable lever-rod 6a, that is moved up or down by means of the actuatingrod 6, that extends to the engineers cab and which, through a bell-crank 6b, having a slot to receive the end of the rod c2, causes the rod 6a to have the proper vertical sweep movement rto actuate the screens a a.

Instead of using the bellfcrank connection 6b the rod 6"]L may be used to be reciprocated vertically by the toggle-link device, as shown in Fig. l5, consisting of a link a8, fulcrumed to the stack, the link 8a, pivotally connected to the link a8 and to the lower end of the rod 6a and the slotted end connection on the actuating-rod c2.

So far as described it will be readily observed that b y reason of the peculiar manner in which the screens are supported within the stack and actuated from the outside of the stack they can be instantly adjusted to close over the smoke-passage, and thereby deflect the cinders without materially interfering with the updraft of the products of combustion the smoke passing up. through the screens and the cinders out of the restricted passages at the top of the flue-stack.

' In cylindrical stacks the screens have a modiiied form, and instead of having a rectangular shape they have a V shape in horizontal section, whereby to properly fit the cylindrical space within the round stack. In this form of our invention we also prefer A using a plurality of sets of series a a and to join the several screen members at each side to move together and to arrange the screens of trough-like bars having the same general correlation as that set forth and shown in the rectangular frames. In this type of our invention the several screen-frames may be adjusted by a right and left thread r and two-on a rod R, that takes through the threaded lower ends of the frames a a, as shown in Figs. 5 nd 6, and which extends to the engineers ca By reason of forming the screen-frames in the manner stated the air-passages between the several bars that constitute the screen can be made sufficiently wide to make up for all screen material and friction of draft thereagainst. Again, in our construction of arrester we utilize a portion of the spent'draft to drive the cinders through the cinder-passages or offtakes back into the iire-box or other box to be burned again, if desired. By linking the several screen members together to close and open and the unison in angle with which the links work the screens when shut or open and laying the screen flat against the sides of a square stack effects a quick, positive, and practical adjustment of the means for stopping the cinders.

Instead of making the frames or bars as shown in Figs. 13 and 16 they may be made up of a series of round bars arranged as shown in Fig. 10a.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A spark-arrester for smoke-stacks, comprising in combination with a stack having an inner and an outer wall, the outer Wall of which extends above and over the inner wall whereby to form cinder outlets or conduits, a screen formed of a plurality of opposing sections, each section having its upper end hinged to the stack, one set of opposing screen-sections being hinged to the outer wall of the stack above the cinder conduit or outlet, another opposing set of screen-sections being hinged to the inner wall of the stack below the cinder outlet or conduit, each of the screen-sections having longitudinal openings, the openings in the several sections having a staggered relation to each other and means operable from outside the stack for swinging the several sections of the screen in unison, as set forth.

2. A spark-arrester for smoke-stacks, comprising a screen located within the stack IOO formed of two half-sections, each having one- I end hinged to the stack and its other end held to swing to a position to close against the ade jacent free end of its mate, each section being composed of a series of separated and longitudinally-slotted members, the slots in the several members having a staggered relation for the purposes described.

3. A spark-arrester comprisin a screen located within the stack, said stac having lateral cinder-discharges, said screen consisting of a pair of opposing sections, each hinged at the upper end at a point 'above the cinder-discharges, each screen-section being formed of a plurality of series of inverted-trough-shaped separated bars, said bars having longitudinal slots, the bars in one series having a staggered relation with respect to the series of bars next to it, and means for swin 'ng the screen-sections toward or from eac other for'the purposes described.

4. A spark-arrester comprising in combina- IIO tion withfa stankv or flue havinglateralcinderoutlets, of a V-shaped screen-body mounted within'the stack, Whose up er end is in a lane above the cinder-out ets and whose ower end -is below said-outlets, said screenbody lconsisting of a series of separated bars, havin longitudinal slots, as set forth.

5. n combination with a stack having lateral cinder-outlets, of la screen mounted in said stack, said screen being V-shaped in cross-section and having its u per end secured to the stack at a point a ove the cinder-outlets and its lower end below said outlets, said screen being formed of a luralityof layers of separated bars, each bar eing sepaf rated from the other and having pendent i'langes at the opposite edges, and a slot eX-l tending lengthwise thereof between the flanges, the several bars of the different layers having) a staggered relation to each other where y to bring the slot of an upper set-of bars over the space between the next under a screen formed of opposingsections7 each section having its upper end hinged to the outer Wall above'the-c1nderconduits, each of the screenesections having longitudinal slots arranged irl-staggered krelation to eachother, and means operable from outside the stack for opening and closing Vthesections of the screen in unison, as set `forth.

ANDREW N. lHOLDAVVAY. ALFRED M. -HOLDAWAY.

Witnesses:

GEO. HAVEROAMP, kFRANK SHARP. 

